5 Myths of For Sale By Owner

However, only about 10 percent of all homes marketed by their owner end up selling without an agent.

But don’t let that fact stop you. Let these facts stop you:

1. You can save money Only if you don’t value your time. Because that’s what you’ll be spending a lot of when you decide to list your home as a For Sale by Owner in Las Vegas. There will be all kinds of phone calls to return from buyers who think their time is way more valuable than yours. In fact, if you’re selling your home yourself, it is worth more. So get used to it.

2. Agents don’t deserve that commission You can open doors for people, right? You can fill out paperwork, right? You know more than the buyer’s agent.

Wait. You mean there’s a professional on the other side, trying to make sure the deal works out best for their client? Is there a way to make sure they don’t have the best, most experienced buyer’s agent out there so the scales are at least close to even when it comes to negotiating?

3. Buyers are always truthful about their buying power If someone makes an offer, it’s a done deal. Or is it? You mean they may not have that down payment cash because the relative who was going to loan it to them didn’t loan it them? The car they were going to sell to get the cash didn’t sell for as much as it was supposed to? What gives? They came to see the house twice, they must’ve been really interested in it.

4. It’s okay to list the home for a bit more at first, just to see if we can get more money Sure it is. No one has ever tried this strategy. What’s good about this this is that you get to spend a few more months in your house packing it up. You see, when homes are listed for above market they get passed on by buyers because their agent smartly recognized a similar house for $7k less than yours. Because, well, that’s an agent’s job, to help their clients buy and sell within a budget that works for them and within the range the market will tolerate. But sure, give it a shot, list for even $10k more than your neighbor’s house, that way it will look like yours is better.

And speaking of which …

5. It’s easy for me to take an objective look at my house Sure, you can take the beautiful chandelier with you, as well as the Viking range, wine fridge, and ornate window coverings. By all means, tell buyers that everything that makes your house stand out is going not be there after closing, that’s a great way to maintain their interest.

That’s right, you may have to leave some of the things you love behind in order to get an offer. If not, you better make a pretty robust list of your favorite fixtures and include them in every page of documentation you file because if you don’t, the buyer’s agent will pounce, and no matter how much you protest, you’ll lose it.

Thus, it’s probably pretty good to understand what defines a fixture.

One last thing, make sure you up the price of your home dollar for dollar based on those new counter tops, the flooring in the master bath and the cost of the landscaping plan. Because all those reality shows say you should get that money back when you sell.